The ability to tie down an end or middle of a taut rope quickly and securely and to release it quickly is an essential requirement in activities such as tying cargo down on trucks, trailers, boats, particularly sail boats, dismantling canopies, flag poles, clothes lines, etc.
Numerous devices have been disclosed which are intended to improve on the earliest methods which included simply tying the end of the rope around a peg or pole.
A cam type rope cleat includes as a minimum a base with base surface upon which is mounted a rotatable cam and a rope abutment against which the cam presses the rope.
Numerous versions of cleats have been disclosed which are intended to improve the operation of the rope cleat in terms of speed of engagement and disengagement, resistance to slippage and inadvertent disengagement.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,835 to Randall discloses cam spindles mounted on a base and extending through a top plate on which are mounted a pair of back to back rope abutments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,270 to Randall discloses a rope tie-down clamp apparatus for tightening and securing a rope between two points.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,423 to Randall discloses a cleat in which the cam has a circumferential groove to improve gripping strength.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,873 to Macias discloses a self locking cleat for a rope including a housing, a rotatable generally spherically shaped engaging member (cam) spring biased toward clamping the rope against an abutment but which is released from the rope by a manual lever.
None of the disclosures provide the advantages of quick engagement, quick release and quick security to the degree that is inherent in the present invention.